


If Only In My Dreams

by greenblanketbythefire



Series: Your Adventures In The Final Fantasy Universe [6]
Category: Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia, Dissidia: Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, And Happy New Year :D, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Kisses, Christmas Presents, Christmas Special, Christmas Tree, Established Relationship, Everything is made of ice, F/M, Ice Powers, Implied Sexual Content, Mistletoe, Snow and Ice, adopted family, everything, merry christmas!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:14:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22058356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greenblanketbythefire/pseuds/greenblanketbythefire
Summary: While everyone is together on the world between worlds, Aspie (Reader) decides to celebrate Christmas as the holidays are rapidly approaching. Unfortunately she is left with too much work on her hands and her new family is determined to help her out, even if they have never heard of “Christmas” before.Christmas Special for Brick By Boring Brick, my FFXV & Opera Omnia fic. Check it out if you’re interested~
Relationships: Vayne Carudas Solidor & Reader, Vayne Carudas Solidor/Reader, platonic Noctis Lucis Caelum/Reader
Series: Your Adventures In The Final Fantasy Universe [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1322219
Comments: 18
Kudos: 15





	If Only In My Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> Established Relationship is for Vayne/Reader. It’s the holidays, I won’t make you wait any longer - well, I will in the original fic lol.  
> Also I literally just finished this and I’ll proofread it when I have time.
> 
> Happy New Year and Merry Christmas~!

The snowy weather on the islands of Spiritus and Materia’s world was enough to get me in the Christmas spirit. Everyone had holed up in the castle Vayne and I had explored to escape the freezing winds. Some people, like Vaan and Penelo, couldn’t stand the cold for very long. Others had a nice tolerance and enjoyed making snowmen and snow angels before heading back inside. Then there were people who could stay outside for as long as they liked, not caring whether or not they froze to death. People like me and Noctis.

“________, Noct, Prompto, I do think it’s time to head in,” Ignis called from the castle’s open courtyard. Noctis and I had been building a snow fort. I introduced him to the concept of Igloos and Prompto had gotten super excited about it. My ice powers certainly came in handy with building houses out of snow. “________, you  _ do _ have an event to help plan.”

I smiled sheepishly, peering out from under the snow drift Noctis had pushed me into. “Right. I’ll be right there!”

Since it was wintertime, everyone had decided to have a mass celebration consisting of all our winter traditions. Those of us who knew the most about our corresponding tradition were in charge of that aspect of the celebration. My heart had been set aflutter at the thought of celebrating Christmas with my new family. That excitement had soon begun to wane when I realized I was the only person who actually knew what Christmas was. No one else had that tradition.

Still, Prompto, Noctis, Ignis, Gladio, and all my other friends from Eos had been very enthusiastic about it. They had all vowed to help me decorate. Compared to other holidays, Earth’s celebrations were much more… elaborate. I’d need all the help I could get with finding holly, mistletoe, and various other things to deck the halls with. The Christmas  _ tree, _ though…  _ that _ was going to be my masterpiece. I had already asked Gladio and Iris to help me.

Yes, I had a lot to do. Unfortunately, procrastination is in my blood.

“So,” Noctis said once everyone from Eos was gathered around me in the Great Hall. I had claimed it for my portion of the wintertime celebration. Iris was sitting on the large staircase with Luna. That reminded me I’d need garlands of pine and evergreen to wrap around the railing. “What do you need us to do?”

I sighed. I had made a list on my phone of things that needed to be done. I refused to look at it again but it would seem I needed to do so now.

“Okaaaaayyy…” I stretched it out as long as I could. “I made a few lists. We need: ornaments, as many long garlands of coniferous leaves and branches as you can find, candles, some shepherds, three kings, an ox, a donkey, some sheep, a carpenter, his wife, a baby in a manger, a big hearth, a piano, snowflake patterns, and for Gladio and Iris, those things I told you about. Oh! And as many red and green things as you can find.”

“You… want us to get  _ all _ of this?” Noctis voiced in disbelief. I grinned my apology. “Man, you guys take this holiday seriously.”

“Noctis. Christmas can  _ stop wars. _ We Earthlings take Christmas  _ very _ seriously.”

“So, what should we do first?” Iris asked.

“Okay, so…”

We split up into groups. Ignis and Ravus were going to scout out the largest fireplace they could find and then various green and red materials - yes, even Ravus was here; I was shocked, too. Next were Luna and Iris, who had arts and crafts duty. They would make the snowflakes and garlands using whatever means they could find. Then there were Prompto and Noctis. They were on standby for when everything had already been gathered. They’d help me with the actual decorating. While they waited, I asked them to help out anyone who needed it. That left me and Gladio.

“So what do we need a giant tree for?” Gladio asked me as we trekked through a Torsion to find an evergreen forest. “I doubt decorating it is going to be easy.”

“It will be pretty difficult, but the Christmas tree will be a symbol of the unity and thanksgiving everyone feels as Christmas time,” I explained. “We put presents under the tree, and on Christmas Day, we open them together. Most people do this. There’s also Hanukkah, but I’m not Jewish, so I’ve never celebrated that instead.”

“Gift giving, huh? And we need a tree big enough for everyone.”

“I was thinking of a big one that will fit in the Great Hall. It will look so pretty! I’ve also been thinking of asking Materia to summon me some Christmas lights since I doubt we could actually make them here. We put those on the tree and when they’re plugged in, it lights up with all manner of colors!”

“Isn’t that a fire hazard?”

We reached the other side of the Torsion. I glanced at Gladio.

“Not if you have the right kind of lights,” I said. We stepped through into a wintry forest full of pine, cedar, and evergreen trees. My eyes widened. I had never seen so many trees covered in snow before. “Oh wow…”

The sky was a light gray, full of clouds. Snow fell softly, catching on my glasses, my hair, my clothes,  _ everything. _ The chilled air had me pulling my jacket further around me. Not a creature stirred. It was  _ utterly _ quiet. The tops of the trees were pure white, and the snow crunched under our feet.

“It’s a winter wonderland!”

I ran out a little ways, arms spread wide.

“It’s snowing!!”

“It’s been doing that since everyone else got here,” Gladio said, not impressed. “Haven’t you seen snow before?”

“Technically yes, but it  _ never _ stuck, let alone looked like  _ this!” _

My hair was covered in snowflakes. By the time we got back, I’d be fully covered in frost.

“And all these trees! How do we pick just  _ one?” _

Gladio crossed his arms. “I’ll wait until you’re done.”

Noctis had given him permission to use the Axe of the Conqueror to chop down the tree. Yeah, we knew a battleaxe wasn’t for lumberjacking but it was all we had. The thing was heavy, though, so Gladio wasn’t going to lug it around all day.

“Alright, alright, I’m done. Let’s go!”

It really was a shame there weren’t any people or animals on Materia’s world. If there had been squirrels and birds about, the forest would have been the perfect wonderland to explore. Instead, it was devoid of all life except for the trees and me and Gladio. Even so, I enjoyed looking around. I had never seen so much snow before!

“We didn’t get much snow in the South,” I said as we inspected a particularly nice conifer. “If it  _ did _ snow, it would never stick. ‘Cept in mountains, maybe, but that’s it.”

“Damn shame,” Gladio said. “Winters in Insomnia were pretty mild, but we still got snow.”

“How many snowball fights did you and Iris have?”

“I lost count. Hey, what about this one?”

He was standing next to a clump of balsam fir. The tree we were looking at was nice. It was a good height and width for a Christmas tree, the top branch poised and ready for a star or an angel. I circled it, looking at every point I could find.

“It’s a good back up,” I said. “But it’s not tall enough. If this were going in a  _ house, _ it’d be perfect.”

“But not for a castle. Got it.”

I looked at the rest of the balsam grove. They were all nearly identical, and that meant we kept moving.

The snow seemed soft. I wanted to dive head first into it as we continued our inspection of potential Christmas trees. But then I’d be freezing. Cold was one thing, absolute freeze was another. Maybe a snow angel would be enough?

_ We don’t have time for playing around. We have an entire Christmas party to plan and decorate for. _

I sighed and trudged onward. I was so used to my mom being the Christmas expert. I  _ had _ learned a lot, but it was usually she that was overly enthusiastic for Chriatmas and did parties and whatnot. Now that she was gone, I’d be all on my own for this. The thought ached…

_ I wish I could actually be home for Christmas… _

_ If only in my dreams. _

“Hey, chin up,” Gladio said from ahead. “Think of it as celebrating home, too. You’re not gonna let it go so soon, are ya?”

_ “Hell _ no!”

I gasped when I glanced up. Another balsam fir was right up ahead. I couldn’t make out its top from where I stood. I began the short jog over to it, passing Gladio as I went.

“That one’s  _ perfect!” _

“The big one?”

“Yes! Yes, yes, yes!”

I clapped my hands excitedly. The fir stretched high into the sky, matched only by the pines around it. It leaves were a dark green, the branches perfect for ornament hanging. And the  _ smell. _ I was taken back to when I’d go Christmas tree hunting with my parents. The amber-y, sappy scent made me smile.

“Can we get this one? Please?”

Gladio sized it up. “I dunno… When you said taller, I didn’t think you meant  _ this.” _

“It will look so pretty, though! With the lights and ornaments and a star at the top!”

He hummed, thinking it over. “You  _ sure _ you don’t want something smaller?”

I was beginning to feel a bit dejected. “If it’s too big, we can keep looking…”

Gladio glanced at my fallen smile. I was still gazing up at the tree with hope. He sighed. “Y’know what? Why not? Might as well go big or go home for your first Christmas away from home.”

I perked up and bounced on my feet with renewed joy. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!”

The Axe of the Conqueror glistened into being in Gladio’s hand. He told me stand back. I did so and watched as a giant battleaxe felled its equal in a tree. It was a sight to behold. The blades of the axe were sharp and not made for chopping down trees. Still, with Gladio’s strength and the masterfully crafted weapon, the tree came down without any difficulties. It did take a while to get through the tree, though. I was shivering from lack of winter wear.

“TIMBER!” we called out as the tree fell. Now we just had to find a way to get it back to the castle…

It had taken a while, but with a bit of effort and a huge ice slide, Gladio and I got the tree into the Great Hall. I conjured up a wall of ice to keep people from seeing what would be a masterpiece of a tree. I had  _ also _ called in some help for things I need for decorating from someone I knew was good at keeping secrets.

“It still utterly baffles me why you would bring a  _ tree _ into a building…”

I whipped around from where Gladio was stabilizing the tree to see Vayne standing behind me, a large box on the floor next to him. I was quick to greet him with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“Thank youuu,” I sang happily. I moved to look in the box.

“Is this what you were looking for?” he asked. Inside the box was large tree stand, a tree curtain, and  _ Christmas lights. _ I suppressed a joyful squeal.

_ “Yes!” _ I straightened back up. “Thank you!”

I hugged him again, this time tighter. Vayne chucked to himself and patted my back. He wasn’t exactly one for too much affection, at least not where people could easily see us. I, on the other hand, wanted to be pressed up against him at all times.

“How exactly do we get  _ that,” _ Gladio pointed at the tree, “into  _ that?” _ He was looking at the tree stand. I reluctantly pulled away from Vayne.

“Ummm, effort?”

Gladio was not amused.

“Maybe we should’ve kept it on its side…”

Thankfully, making walls of ice was very useful. Once we had the tree in its stand, I used my icy magic to prop it back up.

“Guess that’s that,” Gladio said, making sure the tree could stand on its own. “Better return this axe to Noct.”

“What about the lights?” I asked.

“Yeah, I have no idea how any of this works.”

My shoulders sank. “R-right. Um, I’ll, uh… I’ll figure it out.”

As Gladio left, I stared at the lights in the box. Without help, this would be near impossible to do without getting tangled. Or without bursting into tears at the thought of everything I had lost and everyone I had ever celebrated Christmas with. I ignored the tears stinging my eyes. Christmas was not a time for sadness.

“________?” Vayne stood behind me. He turned me around gently. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

I blinked rapidly to rid myself of growing tears and forced a smile for him. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m okay.”

He gave me a firm look. My smile dropped and the tears returned in full force.

“It’s just…” I swallowed. My voice was reduced to a whisper. “A bit much. So soon.”

I glanced at the tree.

“Mom loved Christmas. So much. I just-...”

I sniffed. My throat felt too tight to speak. It almost hurt.

“Come here.” Vayne pulled me back into his arms. It was a good thing Gladio was gone. I didn’t want anyone to see me like this, especially not since I had been so excited before.

A hand slowly ran through my hair. It continued to repeat the action and my eyes closed. It felt nice.

“I don’t mean to cry so much around you,” I croaked. Vayne hushed me quietly.

“It feels only natural for you to miss something you hold so dear,” he said. “No one can fault you for it. No one can feign happiness all the time.”

I sniffed again. Someone knocked on the ice.

“________?” Noctis asked. “You okay?”

Our weird magical soul-link had grown. We could now vaguely feel what the other was feeling. It had come in handy a few times. But now I just wanted to sleep and forget about everything.

“Don’t come behind the wall,” I said loud enough for him to hear me. My voice was still croaky. “Just miss home.”

“Oh, uh, okay. Just tell me if you need anything, okay?”

“Yep.”

As Noctis hesitantly took his leave, I snuggled further into Vayne’s warmth. He really was perfect for cuddling…

It took a few minutes, but once my feelings had been felt, I shoved them down and went back to business. Now that my mind was clear, my creativity levels were going up. I decided to string the lights around the tree from the bottom. Vayne helped the best he could as I explained Christmas trees to him. For the top of the tree, I would hang the lights on it from the banister. It wasn’t entirely perfect, but the lights were evenly distributed, so I counted it as a win. There was only one problem.

“Please tell me there are outlets in this place,” I muttered from behind the tree. The walls were completely devoid of a place to output electrical charges.  _ “Fuck.” _

_ WAIT. LIGHTNING MAGIC. _

I gasped. Right! The cord was in my left hand. I aimed my fingers at the plug. All it needed was a little  _ spark _ and…!

“My, that  _ is _ a sight to behold…”

The tree lit up! It wasn’t fully ready yet, but the lights were beautiful, a sparkling array of colors that lifted my spirits back to what they were. I skipped out from under the tree. Vayne was gazing up at it in awe.

“And  _ that _ is how we Christmas tree,” I said proudly. A few seconds passed and the lights went out. “Awww… I’ll light it up again once it’s done.”

Vayne shook himself from his daze. “There’s more?”

I nodded. “Next are the ornaments. I should probably check in with Iris and Luna…”

Iris and Luna were hanging out in an empty dining room. Paper was strewn out all over Iris’ side. Luna’s looked a tad neater but was still quite a mess. Despite the numerous heaps of cut paper around them, they seemed to be having fun.

I barely registered the blanket spread out over half the table as I walked over to them.

“How’s it going?” I asked. “I hope it wasn’t too much…”

“The instructions you gave us really helped,” Iris said. “And Luna suggested a tradition they have in Tenebrae. It’s- um, I’ll let her explain it.”

“When we celebrate in Tenebrae,” Luna took over, “we make decorations out of paper, usually in the form of sylleblossoms.”

“Like… paper dolls and snowflakes?” I asked, sitting down with them.

“And they make  _ everything _ out of paper!” Iris clarified. “Dolls, banners, garlands, everything! It’s so cute!”

Luna held up part of a long paper chain of what I thought were snowflakes at first. Looking more closely, I noticed they were intricately cut flowers instead. Luna had a wonderful talent for her country’s traditions.

“I do hope you don’t mind,” she said somewhat sheepishly. “When you suggested paper snowflakes, I suppose I got ahead of myself.”

“They’re beautiful,” I said cheerily. “We can hang them along the halls or around the tree! This isn’t just Christmas, right? Everyone has their own celebrations.”

Luna smiled warmly. “Thank you, ________.”

“Oh!” Iris got up and went around the table. “And we made  _ lots _ of ornaments!”

She gripped the blanket and lifted it up. A sparkling array of ornaments was revealed. Some were made from empty potions flasks, others looked to be made from ice. The light shining above caught onto the section Iris was showing me. They sparkled happily.

“These are going to  _ amazing _ on the tree…” I whispered to myself. “They’re-...”

The tears from earlier resurfaced and I shoved them down.

“They’re wonderful…!”

“Really?” Iris sighed in relief. “I was worried they wouldn’t be good enough…”

“They’re just- I- I mean…” I struggled to find the right words. “Good enough…? These are… They’re perfect.”

“We didn’t have enough empty flasks so Luna made some using ice magic. I, um, may have used my dagger to carve some patterns in a few of them…”

“I think they’re lovely,” Luna assured her. I smiled widely at both of them.

“I can’t thank you guys enough…” I choked. “My mom would’ve… She had a tree with similar decorations once…”

Luna stood and rested a hand on my shoulder. “I know this is difficult…”

“But that’s why we’re here.” Iris came back around the table. “We’re not letting you celebrate sad and alone.”

My swallowed the lump in my throat. “Thank you…!”

Iris engulfed me in a hug and tugged Luna to join us. The warmth of Christmas filled me, though it was rather bittersweet. I would not have to be alone. Even if they didn’t quite understand everything, my friends were not going to leave me anytime soon.

“S-so, um…” I said once a moment had passed. “I’m gonna put these in the box by the tree…”

With a few more words of encouragement, Luna and Iris let me return to the Great Hall to continue decorating my tree. While I did that, they’d enlist Gladio, Prompto, and Noctis in making the red and green decorations and evergreen garlands. With that plan in mind, I began the short walk back.

On the way there, I discovered Ravus and Ignis talking in front of a large fireplace. Since I hadn’t seen them in a while, I decided to check in. The fireplace looked big enough for at least my friends and I to hang stockings. I wasn’t sure about our entire  _ crowd _ of allies, however…

“...urely Lunafreya would have told him by now,” Ravus was saying as I slowly approached.

“I doubt even King Regis told him,” Ignis countered solemnly. “He was bent on protecting Noct as much as he could, like any father would.”

“Would that not include informing him of his fate?”

“No, it wouldn’t. He didn’t even inform us of when the treaty was to be signed…”

“Then Noctis should be told.” Ravus’ voice grew more frustrated. “You cannot hide what happened with Rite from him forever.”

“You spent your whole life protecting Lady Lunafreya. I am the same with Noctis-”

“Okay!” I interrupted, clapping my hands together. “No more talking about sad things at Christmastime!”

Ravus backed down. Ignis gave me an understanding look.

“Of course,” he said. “Our apologies, ________. I know this is a special time for you.”

“I…  _ suppose _ it can wait…” Ravus said. He didn’t look at me.

“If we’re going to tell Noctis about his and my fate,” I said firmly, “we’ll do it when we get back to Eos. I don’t want to ruin the good times with our new friends.”

“My thoughts exactly.” Ignis looked to Ravus. “As for what happened with Ardyn…”

“We’ll tell him eventually,” I cut in. “Um, did you guys find a good fireplace?”

I felt a bit bad about closing their conversation so abruptly, but I really didn’t want to think about what would happen back on Eos yet. 

“We did, as a matter of fact,” Ignis said. “This one.”

The bricks in the wall were well aged and some were chipped. Their deep, faded red color made for an old fashioned feeling. The mantle was long and stretched out only an inch or two further at both ends. A worn portrait of a nobleman was displayed in the middle of the wall above it. The whole thing was wider than the three of us combined. I couldn’t help but wonder why such a giant fireplace would be here.

“It’s a bit worse for wear, but if we spruce it up a bit, I daresay it will look splendid once lit.”

I walked forward to inspect it. A nice layer of dust covered the bricks and mantle. There were only two logs placed inside. Along with how old it looked, at first glance, someone could easily pass it over. However, once we had more furniture in the room, it would be wonderfully cozy when there was an actual fire in the hearth.

“Well?” Ravus asked impatiently. “Is it to your liking?”

I turned around and clapped my hands together twice. “I like it!”

Ravus looked away when I smiled. Ignis seemed pleased.

“I’m sure we can fix it up in time,” he said. “Ravus, would you mind…?”

“I’ve nothing else to do…” the commander muttered. I clapped again.

“Thank you guys soooo much!” I said happily. “This means so much to me, really.”

“Of course,” Ignis said. “It is the least we could do for you.”

“Oh, and Ignis? I don’t know whether or not I’ll want or have time to, BUT: I might need help making cookies later. I know where the kitchen is.”

Ignis perked up a little. “I look forward to it.”

I made to leave them to their own devices to clean up the fireplace. “And remember, no talking about sad at Christmas time.  _ No telling Noctis that we’re going to die.” _

“Ah, there you are.” I froze. Standing in the doorway stood Vayne. He glanced disdainfully at Ravus before walking to join us. I relaxed when I saw it wasn’t Noctis and hurried to greet him with a hug. Ignis laughed quietly to himself when Vayne stiffened a bit. He wasn’t used to all the affection just yet. “Hello to you, too, my darling.”

I gripped him even tighter. Thankfully, he wasn’t wearing his full armor so he was that much softer and better for cuddling.

“I trust everything is going well?” He asked when I detracted myself from him. I nodded with a smile.

“We found a fireplace!” I told him. Then I glanced at Ignis and Ravus. “Uh, well  _ they _ found a fireplace. I’m going back to the tree.”

I paused and brought my fingers together.

“Um… Do you… wanna come?”

I missed Ravus glaring at Vayne, who ignored it and placed his hands on his hips.

“I don’t see why not,” Vayne said. I visibly brightened and clapped once.

“Okay!” I said. “I’ll meet you there. I just need to tell these guys something first. And then check on Noct and Prompto.”

Vayne’s eyes shifted from Ignis to Ravus and back to me. “I wouldn’t mind waiting.”

My head tilted to the side. “Oh, okay. If you’re sure…”

Vayne nodded, eyes now locked with Ravus. The latter gritted his teeth. I was confused as to what was going on between them. Had they clashed without me knowing? Had something happened to make them dislike each other? I didn’t know. A long moment went by as they continued to glare at each other I glanced back and forth between them until Ignis finally cleared his throat.

“We really should be getting the fireplace ready,” he said. When no one responded, Vayne’s glare intensified. Ignis cleared his throat again, louder this time. “Ravus.”

Ravus tore his gaze away from Vayne. “I’m going to see Lunafreya. All this work had better not be making her condition worse.”

The three of us watched as he stalked off. When he turned the corner and was thus out of sight, I spoke.

“Is he… okay?” I asked. I glanced at Ignis and Vayne. “What was  _ that _ about?”

“Ah-...” Ignis cut himself off. “I’m… not sure it’s our place to say…”

“Is it not obvious?” Vayne said lowly. He was still watching the doorway like Ravus would come back any minute. “He does not understand to keep away from what is  _ not his.” _

“‘Not his’?” I questioned, still puzzled. Ignis furrowed his eyebrows.

“Do keep mind,” he said firmly, “that ________ belongs to no one but herself.”

I blinked thrice. “...What? Wait, are you saying Ravus-?”

Ignis cut me off. “It would be better left unsaid. I would hate for the tension to rise even further between them.”

“...Okay…” I looked at Vayne and moved to reassure him by hugging his arm. “You… still want to help me decorate the tree?”

Vayne let the tensions in his shoulders drop. His eyes met mine, soft once more. “If you would have me.”

I smiled brightly. “Then let’s go!” I glanced back at Ignis. “Um… Sorry…?”

I felt back for leaving him by himself. He shook his head. “I’ll enlist Noct and Prompto if Ravus doesn’t return soon.”

The teasing twinkle in his eyes told me he was letting me and Vayne have some time to ourselves without interruption.

“Thank you, Ignis,” I said wholeheartedly. “I don’t think we’d survive without you.”

“Well, of course not,” Ignis teased. “But I believe there is work to be done, yes?”

And with that, I happily led Vayne back to our Christmas tree.

“Hmm…”

“Is it not adequate?”

“I dunno. Something looks off…”

“Would you prefer it to be bigger?”

“Maybe? I was saving the small ones for last, but….”

“If you would like me to find something else to assist you with…”

“No, no, it’s okay! My mom was always particular about this, too. I don’t mean to be too picky. I’ve always liked bigger ones, though… Mostly ‘cause they take up more space.”

“...What about the peak?”

“Peak?”

“Does anything go on top?”

“...Well, yeah. I still have to find something for that. Maybe I’ll make something out of ice. Do you think that’s okay?”

“That is up to you, my dear. Whatever your preferences are.”

“Okay. Hey, can you-?”

“This?”

“Yeah. Can I-?”

“Be careful, it’s-  _ ah-!” _

“Oh my god, are you okay?!”

There was a hiss. “Yes… It- ah…”

“Don’t move! Lemme just-”

“No, _______, don’t touch it. You’ll-!”

“Ohhh no, it’s getting bigger.”

“I  _ thought _ that was what you preferred…”

“Not the-! Oh shut it. Put your hand like this…”

“Oh… Ah, darling, really, I…”

“I can get it out! Just… It might hurt a little.”

“_______, really, let me-” There was another hiss.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Just- hold your hand like that…”

“Ah…”

“I’ll make it better, I swear. Just wait another second…”

“..._______?”

“Um…”

“________.”

“I, uh… Oops.”

“What?”

“I think it’s stuck…”

“Do I even  _ want _ to know what you two are doing back there?” Gladio’s voice came from behind my wall of ice. Yes, it was still there.

“Oh! Gladio!” I called. He peeked his head around wall. When he saw that we weren’t doing anything weird, he walked over. “What happened?”

“I was holding a potion flask ornament and it broke. Some of the material is sharp and got stuck in Vayne’s hand.”

Gladio hissed at the sight. “That doesn’t look good.”

I gave Vayne a sympathetic yet apologetic look. “Can you help us get it out…?”

“Alright. C’mere.” He took Vayne’s hand from mine and gripped the broken shard. “On three.”

Vayne narrowed his eyes. His teeth with gritted through the pain. “________, I’m not sure-...”

“One-.”

“AGH!”

Gladio had ripped the flask shard from Vayne’s palm. I immediately slapped my hand to the latter’s shoulder and healed him. I whimpered as sharp pain harshly struck my own palm and ebbed away. I did not like the pulsing it brought.

“I  _ daresay,” _ Vayne accused, “I have  _ never _ received such- such  _ abhorrent _ medical aid!”

“Well, I know basic first aid,” Gladio said nonchalantly. “But since _______, here, can heal, I figured you’d be fine.”

“Gladio!” I turned on him. “You  _ hurt him! Badly! _ You could’ve made it  _ worse!” _

“But I didn’t. And he’s fine now, right?” He glanced at Vayne, who sent him a glare. “No harm done.”

I sighed heavily.  _ “Please _ don’t do it again. Or I’ll tell Ignis.”

Gladio scoffed. “Like Iggy could do anything to scare  _ me.” _

I narrowed my eyes. “Fine. Do it again and I’ll electrocute you.”

He rolled his eyes. “Anyway, if that’s all you need, I’m out.”

“Good riddance…” Vayne muttered once he was gone. He examined his hand. A faint scar had been left by the flask shard. It would most likely fade away soon. “I do not understand  _ how  _ you put up with that  _ attitude _ of his…”

“He’s a good friend, we deal with it,” I said. “I’ll be more careful with the potion ones…”

Decorating the tree with Vayne was equal parts fun and exasperating. He had a perfectionist streak and sometimes I couldn’t keep up with. Other times, we’d each take one part of the tree, I’d finish before he did, and I’d come back over to him to hug him until he was done.

He was so warm… I didn’t know a person could be that cozy. When Christmas Eve came, I had a mind to ask him to share a room so we could light its fireplace and snuggle under warm covers. However, I wasn’t sure whether or not that idea sounded too suggestive or not. In my mind it didn’t, but once I spoke I knew my words would be awkward. Not that I  _ didn’t _ want to do…  _ suggestive _ things with Vayne…! But… In that moment I wanted something warm and fuzzy, something sweet.

_ If I do ask, I hope he understands. _

_ He’s good at knowing what we’re trying to say. Of course he will. _

“Darling,” Vayne said, analyzing the tree for optimum ornament placements. “As much as I enjoy being close to you, it is…  _ difficult _ to continue decorating like this.”

My arms were wrapped around his middle. His arms were free, but I was clinging to him tightly with head against his chest.

“Warm…” I mumbled. He chuckled quietly.

“There will be plenty of time for affection later, my love,” he said. My heart warmed and lifted at his endearment. I’d never get used to being called that and I loved it.

“Why later when I can hug now…?”

“Because, my dear, we are busy and there are many tasks left to complete.”

I groaned and hugged him tighter. That forced a soft breath out of him.

“Really, ________, should you not be making your rounds once more?”

I sighed heavily. “Yeees…”

“Then why don’t you leave the tree to me and see how your friends are doing?”

“Are you sure? I was looking forward to doing this with you.”

“Then I’ll save a few for when you return.”

I didn’t have anything to say to that, so I continued to cling to him and relish in his warmth. I snuggled closer. He spoke my name. When I didn’t respond, he detached my arms from his sides and held my hands in his.

“_________, if this is too much for you…” he said gently. I shook my head.

“I just don’t want to leave you,” I said. “I don’t know when we’ll be sent back, so… I just… want to… spend… time with you…”

He hummed thoughtfully. Then he let go of my hands to tilt my head back and give me a short kiss. I chased his soft lips when he pulled away but he held me back.

“And we will have plenty of time later for moments like these,” he said softly, voice low and warm. “But if you continue to neglect your duties, there will be  _ no _ time, do you understand?”

I nodded sadly. I needed to get my procrastination in check. It had always been with me, never leaving, but this time I  _ really _ needed to push past it.

“I’ll…” I swallowed. “I’ll go see Noctis and Prompto.”

Vayne nodded. “I will be here should you need me.”

I leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. “Thank you.”

He pressed his lips to my forehead and I smiled. “There’s no need to thank me, but you are very welcome.”

I gave him one last hug and I was off.

Finding my friends wasn’t as hard as I thought it was. I reaching through the thread connecting my and Noctis’ souls and let it tug me to wherever he was hanging out. On the way, Iris texted me that she and Luna had found an old storeroom filled with fabrics and various other things.  _ Perfect. _ I told her to look for anything red and green. I  _ also _ asked Gladio to go out and find me some evergreen branches, fir, pine, whatever he could find that wasn’t your average deciduous tree. I needed  _ conifers. _ He said okay and that was that.

Noctis and Prompto were hanging out in a secluded courtyard. I made of the piling snow and fountain. The same one Vayne and I had found in our scavenger hunt. It was a nice area. Maybe I could use it for something.

I gathered Noct and Prom and led them to where Iris said she and Luna were. Ignis and Ravus had been recruited by Gladio to help with tree branch garland making. Now that I knew where everyone was and what they were doing, I relaxed a little. Things were getting done. Good. Noctis, Prompto, Iris, Luna, and I sat down at the same dining table from earlier and examined what they had found in the storeroom.

Ribbons, thread, scraps of fabric, and a blanket here and there filled the boxes Iris and Luna had carried from the storeroom. Excitement filled me right up to my heart. We could use these to making the garlands look even better! ...Once Gladio had them, of course. So we began taking inventory of what we had and cutting larger things in smaller pieces.

When my remaining three friends returned, our table was full of fabric and tree branches. I told them that I was hoping to wrap the garlands around the staircase in the Great Hall. Thus began our quest to make the longest two garlands we could. 

I wasn’t very good at weaving. Luna had to direct me. She had experience with weaving things out of sylleblossoms. My hands made good use of the ribbon if the branches didn’t sit well. We wove the cloths and leaves through each other. When some finished with a branch, Luna added it to the garland. Her work was beautiful and the whole thing stuck together nicely.

What was also nice was spending time with my new family. Not all of us were crafty, but we tried our best and helped others where we could. The banter had reached a very high level. Noctis and I sat side by side, struggling with Luna and Ravus’ instructions. Prompto was surprisingly good at weaving. Ignis was wonderful, as expected, as was Iris. Gladio… had Iris to help him.

“Noct, yours looks like a dog.” I smiled. He raised an eyebrow. “See?”

I pointed at the legs and the leaf that had the resemblance of snout.

“I’m gonna boop the snoot.”

“Don’t touch it,” he warned. “It’s loose enough.”

In came my finger. “...Boop.”

The ribbon undid itself when I touched the leaf’s “nose.” Noctis groaned in frustration.

“What did I tell you?” he said in an accusatory tone. He tried wrapping the ribbon back around the branch. “Now I have to do it again!”

“The boop snoot,” I recited as I continued my own work. “The snoot was booped. The snoot booped.”

Prompto broke out into giggles at his end of the table. Noctis rolled his eyes at me.

“Don’t do that,” he muttered, trying to fix his branch.

“Sorry, Noct,” I said sheepishly.

“Sorry doesn’t fix my branch.”

“I can set it on fire if you hate it that much.”

“Don’t you dare.”

I held up a hand full of flames. “You sure?”

“________.” I froze. That was Ignis. “If your goal is to burn the castle down, then by all means continue. But if it  _ isn’t…” _

“Sorry…” The flames went out. “I’ll be careful.”

He nodded as Noctis snickered.

“Glad you’re in trouble for once,” he teased.

“How is that trouble?” I shot back. “And  _ I’m _ not the one who decided to try and warp to the top of the castle’s tallest tower.”

“Wha- hey, I almost made it!”

“You almost killed yourself Noct.”

Ignis, Luna, and I froze at my words. I hadn’t meant to say that. I had  _ not _ meant to say that.

“U-um… Just… be careful, okay? Challenge warp with supervision.”

“Challenge warping…”

Ignis narrowed his ideas. “I hope you aren’t getting any  _ ideas, _ Noct.”

He glanced at me when he said ‘ideas.’ I shrunk backwards.

“I’m good, Specs,” Noct said coolly. “Beside, warping is already a challenge for _______.”

I bristled and made a frustrated growling noise. “That’s-... Don’t.”

My inability to warp when the situation wasn’t dire still rested bitterly with me.

With the eight of us, the first garland was made faster than I expected. Soon we were carrying it to the Great Hall in a weird procession. The people we passed by looked at us curiously, but most people didn’t comment. Since we were all from different worlds, weird stuff was bound to happen.

When Vayne heard us walk in, he came out from behind the wall of ice. He had been mostly accepted into my group of friends, with the exception of Ravus, I guess, now that I knew about  _ that. _ In fact, on the rare occasion he wanted company and I was for some reason not available, you could find him talking to Ignis or Gladio, maybe Noctis if I wasn’t with him. It made me exceedingly happy to know my friends were his friends. Or the very least, my friends were his  _ acquaintances. _

“What on Ivalice do you have there?” Vayne said as we walked to the stairs.

“Decorations,” I answered simply. Then I spoke to my friends. “If you guys want to put it in place, I’ll stay down here to make sure it’s even.”

We did the railing on the left. There were three big U’s made with the garland. It took a few minutes to get the placing right to make sure the U’s were of equal size before I held them in place with rings made of ice.

“Perfect,” I whispered, leaning back against Vayne who was behind me. “Now we just have to do the other one.”

Everyone groaned. Though doing one garland felt easy with so many people, it had still taken up a fair amount of time. We had done enough for one day.

“Or maybe… tomorrow?”

They liked that  _ much _ better.

Waking up to snow falling was not something I was used to. In fact, any time snow fell felt weird to me. It was a good weird, but there were times when I thought it wasn’t real. How could it be snowing here? Everyone knows snow doesn’t actually happen. Or at least, it doesn’t  _ stick _ . It  _ never _ sticks. So when I finally got to a courtyard to train with Gladio and Noct, the snow there surprised me for the millionth time in a row.

“It’s snowing!” I exclaimed. Gladio sighed.

“You’ve said that the last twenty times it’s snowed here,” he said.

“But- snow doesn’t- it’s-  _ How _ does it do it here and not where I used to live?”

“Snow sticks in most cold places,” Noctis said matter-of-factly. “Your home must not’ve been cold.”

I slumped over. “It really wasn’t…”

“Now come on,” Gladio said. “The sooner we get this done, the sooner we get that second garland done. Let’s go.”

To say I loved training in the snow was an understatement. However, it also meant I was covered in melted ice and snowflakes by the time we were done. Showers were insisted upon, and I headed back to my room, forgetting Torsions exist and freezing the whole time I walked.

I did pass Vayne by. He looked wonderful, as always. When he saw how drenched I was concern crossed over those handsome features of his.

“Whatever have you been doing?” he said as he hurried over. I tugged my jacket further around me while my teeth chattered.

“Training,” I said. “It was fun in the snow. I like making it cover Noctis like a tidal wave.”

“You’re  _ freezing.  _ I hope you are heading someplace warm. I’d hate for you to catch cold…”

He reached to rub my arms to give me some extra warmth. I sniffed. “I don’t get sick easily. Runny nose is just from the cold. Er, the actual cold, not a sickness.”

“Still… You ought to be careful. What have I told you about-?”

“-taking care of myself.” I joined in with him. “I know. You can blame Gladio for this, though. But I am going to shower now, so…”

Vayne nodded approvingly. “Keep yourself warm, my dear.”

“What’re  _ you _ doing?”

“Nothing in particular. Did you have something in mind?”

My cheeks tinged pink. “Well, you could always join me.”

_ How _ I had managed to deliver that so smoothly and with a straight face, I had no idea. Vayne was frozen in place, not expecting  _ that _ to come out of my mouth. His own opened but he thought better and closed it.

“Ah…” was the only sound he made for a moment. “Well, it’s…” He cleared his throat and remained quiet.

“I was kidding,” I said with a slightly embarrassed smile. But then -

_ What if he thinks you don’t actually want to do something like that with him? _

_ Shit. _

“I-I mean, unless you… want to…?” I said brokenly. The blush on my face grew. Vayne’s own cheeks were the lightest shade of pink. He struggled to come up with an appropriate response.

“Well, I…” He scrambled for the right way to word this. “I think… perhaps we should…” He cleared his throat again and shook his head. “I’m not sure if that would be the best course of action at this moment…”

I visibly drooped a little. I mean I  _ had  _ been mostly joking, but… Did he… not like me like that?

“Such intimacy should be saved for a special moment,” he continued hastily after seeing my disappointment. “I’d rather it not be an impromptu morning trip to the shower.” He took one hand in mine. “But rest assured…”

He tugged me closer. Hardly a centimeter was left between us, if anything. He leaned down to whisper in my ear.

“I would  _ very much  _ like to share such a  _ private moment _ with you, my darling.”

A weight was lifted off my chest as my heart and  _ other parts  _ fluttered at his words. I tried to hide my dorky smile, but he lifted my chin to kiss my forehead.

“Now, go get warm. It wouldn’t do for you to freeze for much longer.”

I hurried back to my room so I could see him again once I was done.

When I finally came down after letting my hair dry for an hour (it was still pretty wet but dry enough, I came down to the first floor of the castle to find the second evergreen garland to be halfway finished. Internally I was relieved at not having to work on it as long. I did feel kinda bad for making them do half without me but at the same time I remembered them being so supportive in their efforts to help me and lift the weight off my shoulders. I still had to find something to make a Nativity scene out of, and maybe make cookies, and find presents, and then wrap them, and then-

“Hey,” Noctis interrupted my thoughts as I sat down next to him. “You okay?”

Our soul bond must’ve felt tense. I shrugged. “There’s just so much to do. I know you guys are here to help but…”

“Still feels like too much?”

“Yep… Exactly.”

He snipped part of a ribbon off his branch. “What else do you need to do?”

“Finding presents is going to be super hard while I’m here.” I wrapped some green fabric through the leaves of my branch. “And I think I have an idea for the Nativity scene but I just need to find a place to put it…”

“Presents?” Noctis put his hands down. “We don’t need… I mean, do you  _ really _ need to?”

“I mean, maybe…? Giving gifts is a big part of the tradition but… There’s nothing much I can give…”

“You don’t…  _ have _ to give us things…”

_ ‘Please don’t stress yourself about this,’ _ was what he meant. And I  _ had _ thought of scrapping that part completely. But then, at that moment, I had an epiphany and gasped. I gripped my brother’s arm tightly.

“Noctis!!” I said as excitedly yet quietly as I could so I wouldn’t disturb anyone. “You’re a  _ genius!!!” _

“Uh, what did I… do…?” he said slowly, confused by my sudden change in behavior. I stood up.

“Okay, guys, I’m really sorry but-”

“Just go do whatever you have to do,” Gladio said without looking up.

“We can handle it from here,” Ignis said with a small smile. I smiled back and thanked everyone again before rushing off to find a courtyard to practice my magic in.

“Okay,” I breathed when I found the one with the fountain of Venus. “If I can freeze an enemy solid, I can make a Nativity out of ice.”

I started with a star. What appeared in my hand was a block of ice. When I set it down, I waved my arms in tandem, kind of like a waterbender from Avatar; The Last Airbender. As I let my instincts take over, the ice shaved itself off into snowflakes. What remained was a five pointed star. I grinned widely. My plan would work.

It took at least two hours to make. Each figure, every detail, the placement,  _ all _ of the Nativity had to be perfect or at least  _ near _ perfect. I made the stable first since it was the biggest piece and went on to make Joseph and Mary and their smol holy babby. After that were the shepherds and kings and the various animals usually included in a scene like this. All of them were made out of ice.

“It reminds of Nashville’s Grand Hotel’s Nativity,” I said. I had noticed Vayne coming up behind me. Noctis probably sent him to check on me. “Or maybe the giant ICE places where they made Christmas movies into an ice sculpture wonderland.”

“You did this yourself?” His impressed tone made my smile bigger. My heart warmed.

“Yep! Just took a lot of ice magic.”

“It’s very impressive. I’m curious as to the story behind it.”

I turned to fully face him. “I’ll tell all of you when I show everyone.”

He received his welcoming hug with open arms.

“You must be freezing out here,” he said lowly, holding me close. I snuggled further into him.

“I’m warm with you here,” I mumbled. He was indeed very warm. Simply being in his embrace made me feel sleepy.

He hummed and I felt the low rumble in his chest. “I can think of better ways to warm you than a simple embrace…”

My breaths grew shallow. “And… what would those be…?”

He lifted my chin up. Our eyes closed as he leaned down to kiss me. One kiss, two kiss, short kiss, long kiss… My arms were around his neck as my whole body lit up with a warmth that only came with being around Vayne, a warmth that went…  _ everywhere. _

He rested his forehead against mine. “Now tell me, my love, does the cold reach you now?”

“Mmm… I don’t know,” I said, trying to not giggle with happiness. “You might have to try again…”

He chuckled softly before pressing his lips to mine. For the first time in my life, I couldn’t wait to find some mistletoe.

“Vayne…” I whispered as he pulled away for a second. He kissed me again. “Vayne.”

“Hmm?” His pale green eyes bore lovingly into my own.

“Um… Since it’s Christmas Eve, I think, I have something to ask you…”

He pressed another small kiss to my lips and my heart sang with joy. “What is it?”

“Um… So… I…”

Staring him in the eyes while asking this was a challenge. But I had to do it. I  _ needed _ to finally ask this of him, even if nothing came from it.

“It’s…”

But it was still hard.

“Take your time,” he said gently. I searched for the right way to word my request. He tugged me closer.

“Since it’s Christmas,” I said slowly, “I was wondering -  _ hoping - _ that… maybe you’d… like to sh-... share rooms… tonight…?”

He blinked. “Share rooms…?”

“Like, together…? You and… me…?”

“You wish for us to sleep together? Side by side?”

My cheeks felt incredibly hot. “Um. Yes.”

He blinked again. Anxiety welled up in my chest. I fiddled with the collar of his shirt as his silent observation of me continued. I swallowed after a moment when he didn’t respond.

“Are you sure?” His voice lowered into a dark tone, like he was planning something. “Just you and I?  _ Alone? _ With naught company but one another…?”

My heart did flips as my body heated up further. We were pressed flush against each other. Each word he spoke stoked a building fire.

“With a lit fireplace…?” I asked shyly. He graced me with a sinful smirk.

“And a bed full of soft, silken sheets,” he purred. He pulled me as close as he possibly could. “Yours or mine?”

I woke the next morning to soft breathing that wasn’t mine. The previous day had been busy with baking and finishing everything up. However, once everything was done and dinner had been eaten… Vayne had led me up to his room - or what I secretly hoped would be  _ our _ room - and we had a quiet evening in. At first. It was just cuddling and soft conversation until a few kisses led to…  _ bigger _ things.

I couldn’t have been happier. Even if nothing but a night of snuggling had happened, I would still be overjoyed to spend Christmas morning with Vayne. Even so, it was an incredible feeling, his skin against mine. I turned slowly to face him, keeping his arm draped over my side. If only my phone was not in my jacket which was on the floor.

A sleeping Vayne was an adorable Vayne. Gone was the serious expression he preferred over all others. No longer did he look exceptionally stern: he was peaceful. He didn’t snore (thankfully), but I did learn he slept like the dead.  _ Nothing _ could rouse him from the land of dreams. That was rather cute but frustrating when he had me locked in an iron grip and I couldn’t escape to use the restroom. A gruff huff left him when I pushed to break away and he pulled me closer with a sigh.

“Vaaayne…” I whisper-groaned. “Come onnn, I’ll be right back.”

“Stay…” he whispered, half-asleep. My heart fluttered and I settled back down. The warmth of the bed and Vayne’s arms lulled me back to a restful sleep.

I’m not sure how long it took for us to wake up, but when my eyes opened again, they were greeted with his own. A shy smile grew on my lips as we continued to look at each other. A bubbly feeling rose in my chest and I started giggling. He was just… so  _ wonderful. _

“Good morning,” Vayne said, quietly laughing with me. “I trust you slept well?”

“Mmm…” I yawned and snuggled as close to him as I could. “I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve slept that well… Certainly not recently.”

“I am glad…” He tightened his grip around me and rested his chin on my head. I sighed contentedly. “And I am also glad you worked up the courage to ask me to stay the night.”

“Or for  _ me _ to stay the night,” I mumbled.

“Hmm, that too…”

I lifted my head to press a kiss to his jaw. “Merry Christmas.”

“...and a happy New Year…?”

I giggled. “Not yet but sure, I’ll take it.”

He gently hmphed. “Is that not the phrase you’ve been singing for the past week?”

“It is but New Year’s isn’t till another six days.”

He sighed dramatically. “I  _ am _ doing my best. ...A Merry Christmas to you, my dear. Are you sore at all?”

I was, indeed. I groaned at the feeling. It was worth it, though.

“I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

I inhaled deeply. “No, I’m good.” The rest of my breath was another happy sigh. “You were wonderful…”

A satisfied purr left him. “Why, thank you. As were you.”

I hummed smally, not in agreement.

“________…”

“Hm?”

He shifted to face me better. “‘Twas your first time, yes? I told you I held no expectations and that remains true.”

I curled up a bit. “...But-...”

A finger was pressed to my lips.

“No ‘buts’,” he said gently. “Did you enjoy yourself?”

I couldn’t help the grin creeping along my lips. “Mmhm.”

“And  _ I _ know that  _ I _ enjoyed myself, very much so. That is all there is to it.”

A happy cloud settled in my chest, warming my heart and causing me to lean forward and hug him tightly. I did not want to get up just yet.

“By the stars, is that time already?”

I groaned loudly. “Noooo… Please don’t leave!”

“If I’m leaving, you are, as well.”

He attempted to extract himself from my arms. With a desperate ‘no!’ I huffed and quickly wrapped them back around him to tie him down. He sighed.

“Honestly…”

“You’re so  _ warm,” _ I pleaded. “Please don’t leave me.”

“_______, we will have plenty of time together later.”

“But- it’s not even noon yet…”

“That is precisely the point.” He made to stand. Since my arms were still around him, he ended up dragging me to his end of the bed. “Come now, darling, must I bargain with you?”

“Yes!”

He sighed again. “Very well. If you get up now, you may stay the night again.”

I was up and searching for my clothes in a flash as he chuckled to himself. Ignoring the aches from the night before, I pulled back on the pajamas I came to his room in. Vayne, however, took longer as he dressed in something not made for sleeping. He raised a brow at me when I didn’t change. It was Christmas and Christmas means that pajamas all day was acceptable and I told him so. He took my word for it and we left to head downstairs.

Ignis was a blessing and had already made breakfast. Noctis was also in sleepwear and looked to be half asleep. Prompto was his cheerful self, humming one of the songs I had been singing the past few days and already eating. Gladio munched his breakfast quietly while Iris tried to get Noctis to eat but he was too tired. Luna and Ravus either weren’t up yet or were busy elsewhere.

“Good morning,” Ignis greeted me and Vayne. He wore a knowing look. “I trust you slept well?”

My smiles were unavoidable that day as I hummed my happy response.

“Mornin’!” Prompto said. I waved at him. As I walked past Noctis I poked him a few times.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” I said. He groaned. “Biiig same.”

I plopped down next to Gladio with Vayne on my other side. Gladio gave me a teasing smirk and I dreaded what he would say.

“Your walk’s a little funny, there, ________,” he said. “Got any stories to tell?”

Noctis lifted his head from the table to squint at me and Vayne. Prompto paused mid-chew and Iris looked our way. Ignis elbowed Gladio who repeated the action but less forcefully. Heat stretched up my neck to my cheeks and ears.  _ How _ did I answer a question like that?!

_ “That,” _ Vayne answered for me, “I believe, is  _ none _ of your  _ business.” _

“Oh yeah?” Gladio countered, still teasing. “What do you say, _______?”

“Gladio…” Ignis warned. He was sending him as many pointed stares as he could.

“Ah, um…” I stammered. No words came to mind and the knowledge of speech had all but left me. “Uhh…”

“Why does it even matter?” Noctis finally spoke a full sentence, saving me. His head dropped back down. “It’s too early for this.”

Not knowing how else to respond, I nodded, my entire face feeling like I was sitting next to a blazing furnace. Vayne continued to glare at Gladio and Ignis passed by to deliver more

food. Once Vayne and I had our breakfast, he walked past Gladio and lightly slapped the back of his head. Gladio grumbled but said nothing more.

“Noctis, come on,” Iris coaxed. “If you don’t eat anything, you’ll feel sick later.”

“Not hungry,” Noctis said. At the same time he sat up again and stared at his plate. “...But maybe bacon isn’t so bad…”

Iris sighed. “As long as you eat  _ something.” _

I ate quietly and waited in earnest for everyone to be done so I could show them my hard work with the Nativity and the Christmas tree. Eventually, Vayne laid a hand on my thigh to calm me down. I hadn’t realized I was practically vibrating in my seat as I buzzed with excitement of sharing Christmas with my new family.

After our plates were carried back to the kitchen and washed, I stood with a new energy and happily told everyone to follow me. I quickly led them down the many hallways of the castle’s first floor and out into the courtyard of Venus. There were a few gasps and I let them gaze at the Nativity scene before them for a few minutes before explaining what it was.

Near the fountain was a magically sculpted manger with the image of a baby inside. That would be Jesus when he was just born, his mother kneeling beside him with love as her fiancé Joseph stood on the other side. To the right were the shepherds and a few sheep, who angels had appeared to in the field. On the left were the kings who had brought the baby Jesus gifts from far away lands. Every piece of the manger scene was made of ice. It had taken several tries to get it right, but I tried not to let perfectionism get the best of me.

“________, it’s beautiful!” Iris said. “It must have taken you forever!”

“You didn’t tell us you were an ice sculptor!” Prompto said in awe. I laughed.

“I’m not,” I told him. “I used magic to shape them.”

Yes, the figures were there but there wasn’t much detail on them. They were good enough to recognize individual people and animals but the whole thing wasn’t a masterpiece.

“You truly have a gift, my dear,” Vayne said quietly. I moved to hug him. He patted my back.

“When did you have time to do this?” Noctis asked.

“What did you  _ think _ I was doing?” I asked back. “This was part of my plan. And! Speaking of my plan…”

I let go of Vayne and moved back to the doorway.

“Time for the tree!” With a few happy claps, I led them back down the hallways to the Great Hall. Luna and Ravus were waiting by the wall of ice I had yet to take down. It had been there ever since we brought the tree in. “Oh, hey, there you are.”

“We didn’t find you in any of the dining rooms,” Luna said, “so we thought we’d wait for you here.”

“Just in time, too!” Prompto said. “________ 's gonna finally show us the tree!”

Ravus refused to look directly at me but nodded a greeting to all of us. I moved past him and Luna as everyone gathered around the wall. A few passersby stopped to watch, including a few of my new friends from other worlds. Once everyone was settled, I activated the magic in my soul.

The wall of ice came crashing down in a burst of sparkling snowflakes. I sent the snow to wash over everyone and lit the tree up with a bit of lightning magic. Twinkling lights flickered into being. There were gasps of awe and excited whispers and I beamed with pride. The ice sculptures might have been pretty good, but the tree was my true masterpiece. Ornaments made of ice reflected back the rainbow of colors the lights emitted. They glistened and shined, captivating the small audience I had.

“Christmas trees have been a tradition on Earth for a long time,” I said. “It started as a pagan tradition, but was adopted by those wishing to celebrate the holidays. We put gifts under the tree, and on Christmas morning,  _ this _ morning, we open them with our families.

“Every year my mother would give me and my cousins ornaments. It was her own little tradition. And since Christmas is a time of giving…”

I turned back to the tree and picked up the first gift with a smile.

“...I decided to carry on that tradition and make some things for you.”

I walked to Noctis with the small box in hand. He looked surprised as I gave it to him.

“This is… for me?” he asked awkwardly. I nodded.

“For my brother,” I said warmly, “who has done nothing but support me since I came to his world.”

He opened it quietly. Inside the box was an ornament of a small replica of his Engine Blade. Made of ice, of course. “Oh, uh… You…  _ made _ this?”

“Mmhm…! Your dad gave you the real one, right? So… I hope it’s not…  _ weird _ of me to give you my own version…”

“What? No-! It’s- It’s fine…! I, uh, I like it.”

His eyes softened for me.

“And… I think… I think Dad would, too.”

With a large, joyful smile, I flung my arms around him. The joy of Christmas and giving filled my heart and I quickly let him go and rushed back to the tree, isolating seven gifts before saying, “Well, go on! There’s something for all of you!”

_ “All _ of us?” I heard Vaan say.

“Well, of course! This is Christmas; I couldn’t just leave the rest of you out!”

A few people came forward to look around the tree as I handed out the separated gifts to my friends. Prompto’s was his Cocytus gun, and he was so happy he nearly squeezed me to death. Gladio almost did the same when he received his icy ornament of the Blade of Brennaere. Ignis gave me a warm smile at his ice Spelldaggers and Iris teared up a little at her icy Moogle. Luna was sweet as ever and gave me a gentle hug when I presented a small Trident of the Oracle and Ravus thanked me for the icy model of his sword.

I was saving Vayne’s for last because I wanted another special moment with him. As I pushed through the small crowd, several people came up to thank me, including Terra, Y’shtola, and Yuna. I did my best to weave through everyone until I finally found Vayne standing near the back. We moved to the hallway and I held out a small box. He took it.

“For me?” He asked somewhat teasingly. I smiled at him.

“For you.” I nodded at the box. “Open it.”

Vayne’s was particularly special and I couldn’t wait to show him what it could do. Inside the package were several models of the Sephira, lying against one another in a small pile. My heart fluttered nervously. I was excited, yes, but what if he didn’t like it?

He was quiet for a moment. My anxiety wanted to shoot through the roof but I didn’t let it. I stood nervously and waited for a reaction.

“...How long did it take you?” he finally asked. “To make all of these?”

“Um… The rest of yesterday after I finished the ice sculptures.”

“Is  _ that _ why you were late coming to bed?”

“...Yes.”

“I was worried you were having second thoughts…”

“Well, maybe a little, but I was mostly focused on getting these to work. It took a bit of help from some other magic users.”

“‘To work’?”

I grinned at him and held up a finger. The tiny Sephira came to life and flew up to circle my hand. Vayne’s eyes widened. I twisted my hand and moved it in various patterns. The tiny swords soared through the air, swirling around our heads and making circles in midair. They finally came to a stop and settled back in their box. Vayne was silent again, speechless. I couldn’t help but giggle a bit at his awed expression.

“It’s just yours,” I told him. “Only yours flies.”

“I…” He swallowed. “Darling, it’s… marvelous…”

“So… You like it?”

“I…” He took a second to compose himself. “I love it. You’ve done a magnificent work, my dear. Your mother would be proud.”

Who would’ve known that Vayne Solidor could be rendered speechless?

“Truly. Thank you, ________.”

I gave him the biggest smile and this time he opened his arms for me to hug him. I took the invitation wholeheartedly. His embrace was snug and warm and I loved every second of it.

“Hey!” Our moment was interrupted. “Lovebirds!”

My blissful expression mutated into an annoyed one. I sent Gladio a glare full of knives.

“Look up!”

I glanced at the ceiling. We were standing in the doorway to the hallway. Someone had placed a branch of mistletoe in the middle of it. My cheeks grew hot.

“How odd…” Vayne muttered.

“Do…” I did my best to calm my fluttering heart. “Do you not have mistletoe on Ivalice?”

“We do…”

“Do you…” I licked my lips. “Not have any traditions involving it…?”

“None that I can think of at this moment. Does it have meaning on Earth?”

“Um. Yes. Um… When two people are standing under the mistletoe, they’re supposed to… um…”

_ Why _ was I so nervous?

“Kiss…?”

Vayne blinked at me before laughing quietly. “You’re nervous for one kiss? After all we shared last night?”

Heat blossomed over my face. “U-um, w-w-well… I…”

His laugh continued as he pulled me closer. “My darling, you truly  _ are _ a mystery.”

And with that, I let go of my anxiety as he leaned in to kiss me.


End file.
